Minister accuses former power plant bosses of giving ‘incorrect’ advice

The news

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni has accused the former chief executive and chair of government-owned power generator CS Energy of giving him “incorrect advice” about the status of maintenance work at its part-owned Callide plant.

“What I was told was that all of the statutory and other maintenance that was required to be done was done,” de Brenni told a hastily called media conference on Thursday following new detail of the explosion at the station in May 2021.

“[Chief executive officer Andrew Bills] and the chair [Jim Soorley] told me that repeatedly, they told me that in writing, I looked them in the eye multiple times and asked them to confirm that with me, and unequivocally, they confirmed that everything that needed to be done had been done.

“What [the report from forensic engineer Dr Sean Brady] says is that that was incorrect.”

Soorley declined to comment. A response has been sought from Bills.

Why it matters

Drafts of Brady’s long-awaited report, commissioned by CS Energy a month after the blast, laid out widespread failings of its part-public owner CS Energy and cost-saving directions to the company by shareholding ministers de Brenni and Treasurer Cameron Dick.

The drafts’ publication this week by CS Energy comes amid legal battles with the struggling joint-owner of the plant, including efforts by CS Energy to claim it was legally privileged, and moves to attain full public ownership of the plant.

The energy regulator launched court action earlier this year alleging performance-standard failures at the station, with the its return to full capacity due by August.

With an election in October, the LNP has sharpened attacks around the incident’s effect on increased prices, and calls for de Brenni’s sacking after previous comments maintenance was not a factor.

What they said

De Brenni fronted media to answer questions on Thursday before returning to what he said was two days of planned leave with his wife to celebrate their 20-year wedding anniversary.

Asked if he regretted previous comments that the explosion did not occur because of a lack of maintenance, he said this was based on advice now shown to be incorrect and was “not sure of the motivations of the then-CEO or the chair”.

Pressed on their departures, which came last year amid the appointment of a new board now also set to be given special advisers, he said the government “acted to remove them” based on his “general discontent” with delays around the rebuild and agreement with the joint-owners.

De Brenni said the report “doesn’t suggest that anybody other than [those behind] the decisions made at the site were responsible for what occurred”, and said similar shareholding minister mandates were given to all government-owned power generators.

“There was a problem with CS Energy, there was not a problem with the mandates.”

Another perspective

At a media conference of their own on Thursday, the LNP called for de Brenni’s maintenance comments in parliament to be referred to its ethics committee.